Slayer
by gp28
Summary: Crossover, but more Teen Wolf than Buffy, so I wanted to stick it here. - Ruby Madden is a Slayer, one of the many to receive full powers, making her no longer a potential. When Buffy and the gang at Slayer school get wind of the strange happenings up in Beacon Hills, CA, Rue gets her very own mission. Once there, she finds that not everyone is all they seem. After 3a finale. R
1. Chapter 1

_-here we go. crossover between buffy and teen wolf. my OC is one of the girls who received full powers at the end of season 7 of buffy. even if you don't know buffy, please read because it'll be more teen wolf after this chapter than buffy references. i don't own buffy or teen wolf. other characters are mine. this takes place after season 3a of teen wolf. purely speculative fun. :)-gp28_

Chapter One

I stood before her, my stance in the 'at ease' position. We were an army. An all female army that could pretty much take out the entire United States military. But we weren't advertising that.

"I'm sending you to Beacon Hills." She looked up, not looking much older than when I'd first met her. When my life had taken a turn for the very strange and I could bench lift my 200 lb brother.

They found me. Girls like me known as slayers. One told me that a Coven had seen me. I'd laughed in her face. It was amazing what I didn't know then.

"What's there?" I asked. I assumed Beacon Hills was in the north because I'd been everywhere south of L.A. a dozen times. Other than San Fran, northern Cali was not vampy.

She looked over at Giles, who was usually in charge of sending us off. "Do you want to fill her in?"

"Willow can do a better job of that. But we fear there have quite a few animal attacks."

"Do I look like animal control?" I quipped. Giles shot me a sharp look, reminding me of my place. "Sorry."

"Looks like wolf activity, but there are no wolves in that area."

Ohhhh. Shape-shifters, werewolves, I could handle that…maybe. Most of our training was for vamps.

"It's more of reconnaissance, just go and see and find out what you can. Report back."

"Fight any baddies you come across." Buffy added. "If it's bad, we'll send others."

"What's my cover?" I felt my heart start to beat faster. I finally had a real gig. Plenty of field experience with Slayer School, but this, this was real. On my own. Bout damn time.

"School. Junior at Beacon Hills High. We're not sure if it's teenagers, but that usually the most unobtrusive entrance."

Now I knew why they'd picked me. It wasn't that I was any better than some of the others. I just looked the most nondescript and young. I had no piercings, other than my ears. No tattoos. Normal hair. Slayers tended to try and look badass once they found out what they were. Me, I'd just look silly like that.

I could so pull off looking like a junior even though I was closer to nineteen than seventeen.

"You have kept up your studies?" Giles was a stickler for making us equal to a high school graduate by the time we were eighteen. I was okay with that. I wasn't super smart or anything, but school wasn't so bad.

"Of course. Solid Bs." I grinned at them both. "When do I go?"

"Tomorrow." Giles said, looking over some reports while Buffy jotted something down. She was more a practical Slayer than an administrative one. But occasionally, she did some paperwork. Or she made Dawn, her sister, do it.

"Tomorrow?" That's soon. Really soon. "Do I need anything specific?"

"Your cover story will be given to you before you leave."

"Do I get a watcher?"

"Yes." No more elaboration. "I suggest you go and pack."

"So, I get tonight off?" Normally we had an early curfew if we weren't patrolling. We had the safest streets in the world with all the slayers training here.

XXXXXX

We drove into Hollywood for my last night in California. Me, Vera, and Pearl. My two best friends. Vera Luz was from Portugal with beautiful dark hair and eyes. Her English was heavily accented and her weapon of choice was the crossbow. Edith Pearlman, New York City girl, was a take no bullshit type of girl. She looked as innocent as the girl next door, but with the quarterstaff, she always kicked my ass.

I was never sure why we three were close. We had nothing more than Slayer-ness in common, but friends we were. And to celebrate, they took me to dinner at The Pig and Whistle on Hollywood Boulevard.

"Our waiter is smoking," Pearl said, whispering, but not being quiet at all.

"Smoking? Inside?" Vera looked confused. She glanced over at our 'actor wannabe' waiter and then it clicked. "Oh, hot. Got it."

I giggled, eating my cheesecake. "Some days you are adorable."

She wrinkled up her nose at me and spouted off something in her native tongue.

"And what did you call me?" I asked, eating the last bite of cake.

"You don't want to know." She looked at Pearl. "So, fearless leader, what's next?"

"Avalon." The new hot club in Hollywood. "Why do you think we got all dressed up?"

I looked down at myself. I was wearing a mini skirt and sparkly tank top. It was comfortable and cute.

"And she has to have fun before going off to nowheresville," Pearl shuddered.

Vera nodded. "I am worried for you. Excited, but worried."

I patted Vera's shoulder. "It's not a huge gig. I'm more like seeing if anything is weird there. There could be nothing." I pouted. "But I hope not."

"We'll miss you," Pearl said, dropping some money on the table. "The three musketeers will only be two." We walked out of the restaurant. "And then we'll have to deal with Kennedy being a bitch on our own."

"I am glad to be getting away."

Vera stopped suddenly, listening. Both Pearl and I looked at her.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Down that alley," she pointed. "I hear something."

Pearl took off without a word, leaving us to follow. At first there was nothing to be seen down the dirty alley. I was about to turn us back when I felt a presence behind us.

"Free delivery. Lucky us." Came the voice.

The three of us turned to see four vampires licking their chops.

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Like that line hasn't been used before."

I snorted a giggle and Vera reached into her bag to pull out her stake. Pearl and I in our skirts, were on our own.

One of the vampires saw the stake and laughed. "You think that's—" He was cut off when Vera attacked without warning. "What the?" And he crumpled into dust.

"You American vampires talk so much," Vera stated, watching the other three that were now much more alert.

"Slayer?" The female one asked.

"Three slayers, blondie," Pearl taunted. "Ready to play?"

I didn't say anything. I had never been gifted with witty one-liners especially in battle. I was just ready to fight.

The female attacked Vera as her two lackeys tried for Pearl and I. It was too easy really. LA vamps were known for their laidback nature and great fashion sense. It took all of three minutes to dust them. With one stake between the three of us.

Vera giggled and grinned at us. The adrenaline was pumping. "I'm ready to dance now."

Pearl dusted off her outfit. "Dance, hell, I need to get laid. Shall we?" She headed towards the main street, with Vera following. I looked at the dust at my feet.

I would miss Slayer School.

"Come on!" Pearl called to me. "Hot boys beckon."

I wiped away a tear, already missing them and hurried to catch up.

XXXXXX

I sat. Waiting at the bus station, tapping some weird rhythm on my thighs. I was nervous. Excited, but nervous. This was my time to shine. To be all I could be. I just got tingles from the mere thought of dealing with some baddies.

My cell began to ring and I grabbed it from my back pocket. I didn't know the number. I knew what that meant.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ruby Madden?" It was a male voice. Not too terribly deep or gravely. And not an American accent.

"This is she." I winced at my full name. No one called me Ruby. At Slayer School, I went by Rue, which suited me just fine. "And you are?"

"Oakes, John Oakes. Your guardian." I.e. Watcher.

"Ah, was wondering when you'd call."

"Sorry about not being there to pick you up right when you arrived. Some things…"

"No need to explain. Are you on your way now?"

There was a pause. "No. My driver is. He'll bring you to the house. I had few necessities to see to for your transition. We'll have dinner."

"Okay, John."

"Oakes will be satisfactory." Wow, was it a requirement to be as stuffy as Giles?

"Then I'm Rue."

"Rue, oh yes. Soon then."

"Sounds peachy. Ta Ta." I closed my phone. I was really curious about this guy. Watchers were hard to come by after the explosion of the Watcher council. Most of them were foreign. English second language. There were probably ten Slayers to every Watcher out there.

I waited for a few minutes longer until a large black car drove up. I wasn't a car girl, but I knew luxury when I saw it. A driver exited and walked up to me.

"Miss Madden?" he asked starkly.

"Rue…" I walked down the steps. "You the driver?"

"I am Fitz, his manservant and driver."

"Oh nice." Wow, there was money in being a Watcher? Who knew? He took my bags and tossed them in the trunk as I looked around, taking in the area. It was pretty up here.

"Miss Madden," Fitz waited.

"Right, right. Name's Rue…please," and I got in.

My Watcher lived a little outside of Beacon Hills. Fitz drove the speed limit all the way there. The house wasn't as big as the car made it seem. It was a cottage surrounded by trees. Fitz stopped the car and before he could open my door, I got out.

"Sorry, I'm kind of a 21st century kind of woman," I told Fitz. I looked at the house. "Oakesy waiting for me?"

"Follow me," he started up the stairs to the porch. I followed. He opened the front door and let me in.

It was cramped. Books everywhere and two old couches. It smelled musty and old, but comforting like an old bookstore or something.

"Ruby."

My eyes adjusted to the dim light and I saw the shape of a man in the doorway to another room. He wasn't really tall. Probably around 5' 9" or so. His hair was longer than I'd expected, touching his ears and appeared shaggy. He wore a vest and trousers, and looked rumpled.

"Oakes, right?"

He came in closer and I inhaled quickly. Oh geez, he was cute. Not like, cute in an old grandpa. Attractive in that he was in his late twenties with amazing eyes. He wasn't smiling, but I was betting if he did, I'd probably sigh quite dreamily.

"It's nice to finally meet you." He tripped on the ottoman at his feet, but didn't fall.

"You okay?" I took a few steps closer. He looked up at me and grinned.

Cue dreamy sigh.

"I think it moved on its own." His accent was more pronounced then on the phone. And so far, he wasn't at all the stuffy guy I'd envisioned.

I smiled back. "So, um, where are you from? You're not from England?"

"Not originally. No." He gestured for me to go through the doorway. "Dinner's ready. We have much to discuss. Fitz will take your things upstairs."

The table was small, set for two people. He pulled back a chair for me, like a gentleman and I sat, a little unsure of myself. He took the other seat.

"Where was I? Oh, yes, I am English, ethnically, but I was born in Greece and grew up there and in Austria. So my accent is affected as such." He took the lid off one of the dishes. "May I?"

I offered my plate. He spooned out what looked like chicken pot pie.

"Thanks." I waited until he served himself. I wasn't sure how to begin the conversation about being here in Beacon Hills. He sipped his ice water and met my eyes.

"How was your trip?"

"Fine. I caught up on some of the news around the area on my cell." I took a bite. "This tastes good." Good? Was that all I could say? My Watcher's unexpected good-lookingness was making me nervous.

"Well, it's about all I can make without burning it, so after this it might be Chinese takeout."

He wasn't anything like Giles. He was lots friendlier and more personable. And so much younger. He didn't talk down to me either.

"I like Chinese."

He smiled again. "We should set up your schedule. We will need to keep up your training away from town. The basement here has been converted into a workout room."

"Great. I thought I might join a sport at the school too. Infiltrate myself more."

He nodded. "That might be wise." There was a pause. He watched me for a second. "We will debrief every evening. This is mostly just a research mission."

"Yeah."

"How much did they explain to you?" he asked, taking another bite.

"Um, that there was a lot of animal attacks in this area. More than what seems normal."

"I've been here two weeks, getting settled in and learning about the area. There's definitely something that isn't natural. Something in the air."

My eyes widened. "Are you a witch?"

He shook his head. "I'm trained to be alert of all disturbances in nature. Any sort." He got up and grabbed a newspaper from a side table. He placed it next to me, pointing. "The storm two nights ago was unworldly. And concentrated in a particular area. I suggest you investigate tomorrow afternoon, after your first day of school."

The damage shown in the newspaper photographs was pretty intense. He also had a map marked with the area he thought most affected.

"Okay, I'll also see if I can find out anything from my classmates."

"You do know to be careful around the other students, especially those you'll befriend?"

Main difference between Oakes and Giles? Oakes seemed to think I was smart enough to follow general rules of Slayerhood.

"Of course."

"I'm still researching the history of this place, but I will share my discoveries with you when I have something worth sharing."

"Okay." I paused. "So, should we talk about our life stories now?"

He chuckled. "I know much about you already. Giles and I have spoken on the phone."

"What did he say?"

"He thinks you are capable."

"Really? That's all I am on his radar?" I sighed. "Nice to know."

"He has many slayers to work with."

"I know," I blushed, a little embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Ruby…"

"Rue," I corrected.

He nodded and leaned closer, his eyes never leaving mine. Did he know how attractive he was? I was surprised I wasn't more tongue-tied around him.

"Rue, we must always be honest with each other. It's essential to our relationship."

He was completely clueless. No older hot guy would use those terms with a teen girl. 'Relationship' indeed.

"Sure."

"Excellent. We will finish dinner and I'll show you your bedroom and you can settle in."

XXXXXXX

_and we're off. there's a link on my profile to pics of my OCs. R&R please. -_


	2. Chapter 2

_ wow, i am so so so sorry it's been ages. work and life and busyness sort of attacked me. that and a general issue with this chapter. for some reason, the introducing of canon characters can be more difficult than i'd imagined. thanks for the follows and reviews and such. i'll try to update more quickly next time -gp28_

oh yeah, i don't own teen wolf, or buffy, or john hughes, or you know...much at all. :)

Chapter Two

I woke up early to my alarm. I slammed my hand down on it before dragging myself out of bed. Slipping on sweats and sneakers, I pulled my hair back in a ponytail. I was down the stairs before I remembered that I was in a new place. I paused in the living room, looking around. Oakes had shown me the alarm passcode before I'd crashed, but I still wondered if both he and Fitz were down for the count.

I plugged in the code and exited the cottage. I stretched a little on the front step, breathing in that absolutely awesome brisk, cool fall weather that we never got in Orange County. I debated going back inside to grab my iPod for running music, but it was a new place. Isolated. I probably needed to be aware of my surroundings as less fun as that was.

As I jogged, I planned out my course of action for the day. I was pretty quick on my feet as far as improvising my way through situations, but I was enough of my dad's kid to want to plan out things. Pretend that I had control.

Number one: register, check in, whatever at the school. Definitely check out the principal as they always seemed to come in 'clueless' or 'evil' size.

Number two: find all my classes and pray that I can bs my way through them as I didn't really want to go through high school classes again. (Who did?)

Number three: make contact. Try to find at least one person who seems like they'll accept me and be willing to offer information.

Number four: decide what the hell kind of person to be out here.

I knew, without much experience, that I would probably be myself eventually. I wasn't that great of an actress. There were a whole lot of lessons on subterfuge in Slayer school. I also knew that I wasn't a natural leader. Sure, I had slayer powers that gave me some decent confidence, but when you spend your time with slayers all the damn time, it didn't feel so special. Especially since the one Slayer didn't seem to pay much attention to you. Not that she had a lot of time.

Still, a 'good job, Rue,' from her would have been nice.

I paused and leaned against a tree, realizing I was panting. Hard. I hadn't been jogging. I'd been running quite fast. My thoughts must have pushed my legs faster than I realized.

I had to be a leader here. Well, at least someone who was proactive on my own. With Pearl and Vera, I was kinda the one who sat in the backseat. Which was okay because Pearl was a great leader and Vera played the silent, strong type well. I was just support.

I was really good support.

"Stop thinking so much," I muttered to myself, echoing pretty much every teacher I'd ever had. Both in regular school and Slayer school. "You've been training for ages. You can do this."

It wasn't a very impressive pep talk, but I looked at my watch right then and realized I needed to book it back to the cottage if I planned on showering before my first day of school.

XXXXXXXXX

"Oh my god," I muttered to myself as I waited in the office, waiting on the principal to tell me about the school and whatever.

I was nervous.

"You've freakin graduated basically. I mean, come on," I continued the one-sided conversation, but it didn't slow down my heart rate one bit.

"Ruby Madden?"

I looked up at the man standing in his doorway, looking pretty darn human and not too scary.

I got up and followed him in. He gestured to the empty chairs in front of his desk and I sat down, forcing a smile to my lips.

"You transferring rather late."

It was October.

"Yes. I'm sure that my guardian…"

"Your uncle."

"Yes." Right. Uncle Oakes. That wasn't weird. "His job moved him here and you know, sometimes that just happens." Why did I feel the need to defend myself? "I'm sure I'll catch up."

"I would hope so."

Wow, he was welcoming. I just kept smiling.

"Your schedule and locker number." He handed me some papers. "Your transcripts are fine and all the registration is taken care of. Your English class has an interim teacher at the moment, but that will soon change. If you have any questions, Mrs. Hutchins at the front desk is very helpful." He stood.

"Oh, that's it. Okay." I stood and dragged my backpack back on.

"Welcome to Beacon Hills High, Ms. Madden. I hope I don't see you in my office." He gestured to the door.

"Nice to meet you," I headed to the door and shook my head the moment it shut behind me. I looked at my schedule for my room number and didn't see that I was running directly into the hallway and into someone. "Shit, sorry." I said when I knocked down the person's books. "So sorry." I knelt down to pick them up, noting the very high heels. Very nice ones if my years in school with all girls had taught me anything.

"Are you blind?"

The voice was definitely female and very pissed off. I stood up and smiled at her. She had some of the prettiest red hair I'd seen and despite her diminutive stature, I felt a bit intimidated. I shook that off mentally.

"No, definitely 20/20, just," I waved my schedule about. "Trying to find where to go."

"You're new." Her voice was less disgusted as she looked me over. "And clearly not into fashion."

I looked down. I wore jeans and, what I thought was, a cute tunic. "Guess not."

She stared at me for a few seconds, almost as if she was deciding if she would continue to be bitchy or not. I'm not sure why I thought that, but that's how it struck me. She sniffed and held out her hand. "Schedule?"

I handed it to her, weirded out more that I responded so easily to her demands than that she made them. Did that mean she was a supe?

"English. Me too. Follow me." She handed it back and with a twirl toward her intended direction, she walked away. I stumbled and hurried to follow her.

"I'm Rue, by the way."

"Lydia. Martin." She glanced over at me. "Where you from?"

"South. Like, Southern California. Orange County."

"Really?" She gave me another long look. "You would think the styles down there would have rubbed off."

I realized how many insults I'd suffered from this pint-sized ginger and that I should probably be pissed, but well, did I mention that she was really pint-size? I wasn't so intimidated any more. Especially since the strident nature of her voice had lessened.

Almost as if she didn't mean half of it, but was just habit.

I opened my mouth to try and start a conversation, but she immediately turned and entered a classroom. I followed and paused at the door.

An older woman was at the desk, reading what looked like a dime-store romance novel. I walked up to her.

"I'm new."

She looked up. "I'm the sub. Mrs. Garnett. Have a seat." And she went back to her novel. I stood there for several seconds, bewildered.

"A new student? Every time we get a new anybody, it turns out really bad."

I looked over at the not so hushed voices to see Lydia speaking with two boys. Both brunettes, one had the lovely golden skin of Hispanic ethnicity, while the other was pale, but not vampire-pale. I hated that I was disappointed in the lack of vampire pale even in the sunlight.

It was the pale one who was speaking.

"Do you want to just ask her if she's special, then?" Lydia snapped back before shaking her head and opening her books. She didn't invite me over or anything, so I just met the gaze of the two guys.

To be fair, both looked embarrassed to be caught.

I looked for an empty seat, but as the bell hadn't rung yet, there were several. I walked over to Lydia.

"Sorry to bug you, but what seats are open?"

She looked up at me, her eyes annoyed, but they softened surprisingly. "You can sit behind me. No assigned seats. Besides, the guy who usually sits there, taps his foot on my chair all the time."

"Thanks." I slid in the desk behind her, glancing again at the two guys. "I'm Rue." Go for the proactive Slayer. I mentally gave myself a cheer.

"Scott," The darker one said and smiled. "Welcome."

"Yeah. Thanks." I looked at the other one.

He jolted when our eyes met, "Uh, Stiles, I'm Stiles." the pale one said. He was jumpy, I noted to myself. I had a moment to appreciate how actually pretty both of them were in their own ways: Scott with puppy dog eyes and Stiles with very nice cheekbones; then the bell rang.

"Please continue working through The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Mrs. Hutchins said without looking up from her book. "You will have a test over the first half on Friday." And that was it. Students chatted to each other, pulled out their cell phones, some read.

"Seriously?" I was in shock.

"She's not really a teacher. She's just…" Scott looked at the sub then back at me. "Filling in and has no desire to do anything."

"It's not like it's hard either," Stiles said. "It's a coming of age novel, set before the Civil War, about friendship and family and racial stereotypes and I mean, come on." He aimed that last bit at Mrs. Hutchins who paid no attention. "And it's a social commentary on all those things. Mark Twain, the genius." He made a sound like 'pfft' before turning back to me. "So, Rue. Where you from?" He met my eyes with an earnestness that I half-wished was actually interest. It was suspicion not well-masked by curiosity.

After hearing the earlier conversation, I didn't think this was idle questioning. I told them the same thing I told Lydia.

"Wow. What brings you to Beacon Hills?"

"My guardian. I'm supposed to call him Uncle, but it's weird. He got a job here. So here I am." I shrugged.

"Your guardian? Where are your parents?" That was Scott. Who looked over when a pretty brunette walked in. I watched his movements, wondering if I was intrigued because he was hot or because he was 'other.'

"Hmm?" I totally missed the question. I needed to relax and not be so hyperaware. It was just making me seem odd. I didn't need to be odd. I needed to seem normal and blendable.

"Your parents?" Stiles repeated, eyes still on me with concern.

"Um, they died. While back." I shrugged and thought about my real parents back in New Mexico, thinking I was at some great advanced placement program for college. What they didn't know was good for everyone. "I had a nice foster family, but then Child Services found the man my folks wanted me to you know, stay with. So here I am."

"Wow, that's awful." Stiles' brown eyes widened. So did Scott's and I saw Lydia glance behind her at me.

"You deal." I looked down at my notebook. I felt uncomfortable with their sympathy when I certainly didn't warrant it in truth. "So, Beacon Hills. What do you do around here for fun?"

Stiles jerked a thumb at Scott. "We play Lacrosse but that's in the Spring."

"Oh," I grinned. "I've never played, but it always looks kinda cool." The smiles I got from both boys was encouraging. "Do you play other sports?"

"Cross-country."

"Cool." God, I sucked at small talk. "I like to run." More often when I was chasing something.

"You should join," Scott suggested, his eyes back on me. The pretty girl he'd been eyeing glanced over at Lydia with a questionable eyebrow raise.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." I really sucked at small talk.

Awkward silence as the last of the students filed in. A set of twins came in, moving completely in sync. One walked over to Lydia.

"Where were you?"

HIs voice reminded me of a growl. Low and rumbly.

"I had things to do." Lydia flipped her hair. "And I met Rue. Who needed a guide."

The guy looked at me, sniffed and looked back at Lydia before sitting in the desk in front of her and speaking softly to her. I looked over at Scott and Stiles to see their response. Scott shrugged before pulling out his copy of Mark Twain's classic and thumbing through. Stiles stared at the couple for several seconds before giving a quick sigh. He caught me looking at him.

"So, you like Mark Twain?" I asked cautiously.

He slid into his desk and shrugged. "I'm more of a Salinger fan if we're talking American coming of age stories."

"I prefer John Hughes for that type of genre."

His eyes had gone back to Lydia and who I guess was her boyfriend, but they quickly darted to me. I smiled.

The wariness drained a bit out of his eyes and he grinned. "Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink?"

"Fuck those, it's all about Ferris."

"New student!" Mrs. Garnett's voice cut through the chatter. I looked over at her. "Please watch your language or I will send you to the principal's office." And she looked back at her book.

I muttered a few things under my breath about old ladies and cheap, pathetic romance novels and their general lack of sex life. I didn't think I was that loud, but both Stiles and Scott started snickering.

This was going to be a very interesting assignment.


	3. Chapter 3

_a/n - wow, this happened much quicker than I expected. I just felt like the second chapter was pretty much filler. hope this makes up for it. thanks for the follows/reviews/favs-gp28_

The rest of my first day went normally. I was pretty much ignored by my new classmates, although if I found myself in class with either Stiles, Scott, or Lydia, they would say hi. Well, Lydia would nod. I found out that the pretty brunette that Scott had been eyeing was named Allison and her boyfriend was Isaac, with sad eyes and innocent smile. No one told me that Scott and Allison had been together before. It was pretty obvious if you watched closely enough. Lydia's man had a twin and they were called Aiden and Ethan, respectively. I didn't like them on first impression. Something about them rubbed me wrong. I took note of it as being a Slayer usually gave me good perception.

The constant barrage of homework, lectures and appearing as inconspicuous as possible wore me out. I sat in the lunchroom by myself staring at the list of assignments I'd been given. I sighed heavily remembering how freakin grateful I'd been to be done with regular school when I'd left home to be Slayer-trained. The idea that I had to do more work for a cover really grated.

I glanced up once to the table that held the only classmates I knew by name. I caught Stiles looking and his face turned red. I half-smiled and waved. He looked back at Scott who was rubbing his forehead, looking exhausted. Actually, all five (the twins were not present) of them looked worn out. I went back to my meal as I pondered what information I'd gained to tell Oakes.

"Hi."

I looked up to see Scott standing at my table.

"Hi." I gestured to the empty seats around me. "Not a lot of room, but you're welcome to have a seat."

He chuckled at my sarcasm and sat. "How's your first day going?"

I blinked. "Okay." I shrugged. "You know, it's school. High school, so some watered down version of hell no matter where it is."

Another grin.

"So," I continued. "Are you always this nice to the new kids?"

He nodded. "To the pretty ones."

My mouth parted and I blushed. He laughed.

"I wasn't hitting on you, I swear."

"I didn't…" I swallowed. "Course not. You…" I looked toward Allison. "Clearly have your attention in that department elsewhere."

"You picked that up in just a day?"

"Observant." I picked at my food. "So, why did you come over? Other than to make me blush?"

"You don't seem like you came from Southern Cal...with the blushing and all."

"And you can judge all residents on bad reality shows?" I quipped back. He watched me. "What?"

"Nothing." He grinned and got up. "Just wanted to see that you were finding your classes and all." The smile was still there, but there was a curiosity in his eyes. This group clearly thought I was up to something. Which I was, but I couldn't figure out why they thought that. I mean, really, I was not the kind who stood out. "Later." And he walked back to the table. I saw them all look at me then go back to him.

What the hell?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

School finally ended. I felt like my brain had been twisted and wrung out like a sponge. I'd watched everyone I'd come into contact with. But how could one tell who was supernatural and who was just a weird teenager, going through the crap we all go through? The teachers were not much better. I wondered if any teachers out there were actually happy to teach. Most seemed worn and it was only October.

I got to my bike. I'd put a stop to Oakes having Fitz drive me to and from school. Being new was bad enough, but showing up in a luxury sedan with a driver? I might as well put a tattoo on my forehead that said 'not normal, approach with caution if at all.'

So I got a bike to ride to school. Sure it was a trek, but it was nice to get out the physical exertion and with Slayerness, I didn't sweat so much unless I really worked out. I strapped my bag to the back of my bike and took the helmet I'd left in my locker, fitting it on my head. As I did, a blue jeep drove past me and paused. I looked up.

"Hey."

"Hey...Stiles, right?" Like I'd forgotten.

He glanced at my bike. "How far do you ride?"

"A good ten miles." It was more like twenty, but no one would believe that.

"Wanna ride?" He seemed unsure that he wanted me to answer affirmatively. These kids were both really friendly and really standoffish. Which I couldn't explain, but made them seem a bit bipolar.

I cocked my head to the side. "I don't think my bike'll fit into your vehicle." I grinned. "But I like it. It has character."

He grinned warily. "It's been through a lot." A car behind him honked. "Sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks. See you tomorrow."

"You too. Rue…" He looked like he would say more, but the car honked again and he quickly put it into drive and drove off. I got on my bike and headed out of the school parking lot.

It hadn't mattered if my bike would have fit or not. I had a detour to take before heading back to the cottage. To the place the storm had hit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I left my bike by the main road, but kind of hidden so no one would think to stop. Just what I needed; some do-gooder worried about a lost little girl finding me scoping out some weird supernatural stuff.

Or it could be nothing.

I followed Oakes' map, looking at all the trees and wondering how I was going to know exactly where this storm had occurred. It was pretty. Fall in full color. And it was easy to get distracted by the beauty.

"Storm, storm, storm," I muttered to myself, looking around, reaching out with my slayer senses for anything that felt odd. I closed my eyes to push out my net further.

Something. Something felt tingly.

I walked toward it, eyes still closed and searching. The tingling got stronger and I grinned and took one more step.

My foot hit nothing. My eyes shot open as I stumbled and quicker than a regular human, I made myself fall backwards so I didn't fall into the hole I'd found. I landed hard on my back with an 'oof.' I'd been wearing my backpack which wasn't much of a soft landing. I think I cracked my back without meaning to.

"Oww." I sat up, rubbing my ass and looked at what I'd nearly fallen into.

It wasn't just a hole. It was almost a ring of cave-in. I scurried back as the edge began to crumble. I gaped at it.

A huge, like beastly huge cut tree trunk stood in the center of the cave-in. I peered over and saw a jumble of roots. It was a root cellar that had collapsed. Only one side was still attached.

"Odd," I mumbled. "Did the storm do it?" I stared at the stump before backing up and making a running leap to land in the center. I looked around to see that the area was clear of the trees I'd passed through. It was more like a wasteland than a forest in this part. I knelt down and pressed my hand on the grooved wood.

It wasn't a tingle, it was an electric shock that burned. I might have yelped as I pulled away.

"What the hell?" I looked at my fingers to see if it had left a mark, but they looked normal. I grabbed my gloves from my back pocket and put them on before touching the stump again. No reaction. I stood up and looked around, taking deep breaths. I walked to where it hadn't collapsed and tentatively climbed down the roots to the ground. I took off my glove and touched the exposed root. It zinged again, but not enough to hurt. I went to put my hand back in my glove when I noticed it left something this time.

I sniffed the red fluid.

Blood.

"Holy shit," I went to wipe it on the ground, but thought better of it. I slipped off my backpack and with my gloved hand, dug around for something to wipe the blood on. I found some tissues and wiped it off and stuck the tissue into my leftover ziploc bag. I tossed the half-eaten apple I'd left in there and sealed it up. I put it back in my bag and closed it. I stood back up and searched around for anything else that tingled.

It was definitely only this place.

I pulled out my cell and took several photos for Oakes to look at. I walked around it a few times, looking for anything else that seemed strange, but nothing stood out. I sighed and started back to my bike. It was getting dark earlier here, and I didn't really want to cycle on a major road in the dark with no reflective gear. I trudged back through the woods, pondering the stump and what it could possibly be.

That's probably why I didn't sense the presence until it was nearly on me. I flung out with my arm, clotheslining the bastard and swept my leg so he or she would fall easily. I pounced on top of my attacker, fist (I hadn't brought a stake, which was unlike me) raised high.

"Shit, shit, it's me, Stiles."

My vision cleared from the heat of protecting myself to see the pale boy from school under me. His strange, but pretty light brown eyes were wide and he was coughing. I'd whacked him good on the chest.

"What the fuck?" I didn't lower my fist yet. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" he replied weakly.

"I asked first and I'm not the one with bruises."

"Good point."

I paused to take in his position. He felt human, my hand on his shoulder could crush those bones pretty easily. Stiles was definitely only human.

"Did you follow me? Because that's super creepy." I hadn't gotten creep vibes from him. More geeky ones.

"It's…" He paused. "Can you get off?"

"No. I don't trust stalkers." I raised my fist again.

"Don't hit me, seriously. I break easy." He winced and looked away.

"Which is tempting. Explain yourself."

"You're the one going places better left alone." He met my eyes bravely. I noticed how his face flushed with exertion. Then the tips of his ears went pink. "Please get up...I...can't really help-"

That's when I realized what was happening with a part of him responding to our odd position. I jumped up and moved away, not relaxing my defensive stance.

"Boys."

He glared at me before getting up cautiously. "You're the one on top of me."

"You're the one sneaking up on girls in forests...alone."

"What were you doing there?"

"Where?" I said, dropping my hands when he made no move toward me.

"The Neme-" He cut himself off. "The place. With the stump thing."

"I was exploring before I went home. Not ready to start homework yet."

He crossed his arms and gave me a skeptical look.

"I don't care if you believe me. You're the one who seems unhinged. Why did you follow me?"

"Maybe I was exploring too."

"Bullshit," I took a step toward him and he backed up. Good, he was wary of me. "Explain."

He looked around, fidgeting. "Biking alone on this road isn't safe. Maybe I wanted to make sure you were safe."

"OH MY GOD!" I turned and walked away, heading for my bike. I heard him follow, his shoes causing crunching sounds.

"I saw you, you touched the stump and it did something, right?"

"You're imagining stuff, stalker. I was just intrigued by it." I spun around and he jumped back a bit. "Are you gonna tell me the truth?"

"Are you?"

Impasse.

"Why don't you believe me?"

"Cause you hit me pretty damn hard for a girl. And I know what getting hit by a girl feels like."

"Stalked others?" I asked snippily.

"Allison is kinda badass, too." He pursed his lips. "But you hit harder. And that jump…" He looked me up and down. "Are you sure you're from the OC?"

I rolled my eyes, hoping that he couldn't tell how nervous I was getting. He'd seen me. A regular human couldn't jump the way I'd just done.

But how would he know that?

"Yup." I continued back to my bike. He followed at a distance. "Look, let's just stay out of each other's way. I won't report you to the police-"

"The sheriff is my dad."

I paused and looked at him. "Of course he is." And I quickly started to pull my bike from its hiding place."Fine. How about you leave me alone and I won't kick your ass." I said calmly.

He ran a hand through his hair. "You're hiding something."

"Kettle, meet pot." I saw his blue jeep down the road a bit.

"Rue."

I glanced at him over my shoulder.

"What were you doing there?"

"What is there?" I replied. He pressed his lips together stubbornly. "Then we have nothing to talk about."

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Can I at least follow you home to make sure you get home okay?"

"You have got to be kidding me." I dropped my bike and stomped over to him. He backed up against a tree. I stopped less than a foot away. "I do not need your misguided chivalry. Until you want to tell me why you care where I go, I don't want to see you or your rather nice eyes anywhere." And cute nose.

He straightened. "Did you just compliment me?"

I did. Dammit.

"No." I made a fist and he tensed. "Got it?"

"Yeah, got it." We were silent for a bit, each breathing. I took a few steps back when I caught myself feeling less annoyed with him.

Without another word, I got on my bike and headed back for the cottage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-_as to why the gang is a bit off, well, they are a little wary of newbies and when beacon hills becoming a beacon again, they have a right to be. the darkness stuff with scott, stiles and allison will eventually come into play, but that's the main reason they look so worn out-_


End file.
